Lucy Letby Told Colleague ‘I Blame Myself’ a Year Before Arrest Inquiry Reveals
In a chilling revelation, child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby expressed concerns about her own actions more than a year before her arrest, an inquiry has heard. Letby, who was working at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit, sent an email in April 2017 to an occupational health nurse, Kathryn de Beger, stating she was worried she had “maybe done something wrong” to babies, adding, “I blame myself” via Evening Standard.
Kathryn de Beger, speaking at the Thirlwall Inquiry, detailed how she was assigned to support Letby’s mental health and wellbeing after Letby was removed from the neonatal unit in July 2016. Initially informed that Letby’s redeployment was for training amid investigations into rising mortality rates, de Beger later learned that Letby was suspected of harming patients.
In messages presented during the inquiry, Letby’s casual tone stands in stark contrast to the seriousness of the situation. In one message, she wrote: “Mum and I are in Liverpool today shopping. Yes, it’s nice to have 4 days off. Are you doing anything nice over the weekend? X Have you had a nice quiet week without me!!” Ms. de Beger responded, “Missed you! But glad you have had a good week.” Letby continued, asking about Ms. de Beger’s plans for her son’s wedding, even joking about her mother’s refusal to wear a hat if she were to marry.
Ms. de Beger told the inquiry she felt she was Letby’s primary support during this period. “I have not been in a WhatsApp group with any other member of staff, but I’ve not supported staff in this situation ever before, and I felt at that time that I was the only support that Lucy Letby had,” she explained. She added that Letby seemed particularly distressed, and she tried to offer support through frequent messages.
The inquiry also heard that Letby requested meetings around the anniversaries of babies’ deaths. While Ms. de Beger initially told police that Letby did this multiple times, she clarified during her testimony that she recalled it happening just once. When counsel Andrew Bershadski asked if Letby’s distress around these anniversaries was unusual, Ms. de Beger responded, “It was in the context that she was feeling particularly distressed, but how much more would the parents feel at the loss of their baby. That’s how she framed it.”
In an email from April 2017, Letby confessed, “I feel as though this must be my fault and have maybe done something wrong to babies and I blame myself, do you think that’s normal?” Despite the alarming statement, Ms. de Beger said she was not concerned at the time because Letby had always insisted she had done nothing wrong. She explained that Letby’s distress seemed linked to a postponed plan for her return to the neonatal unit, which left her feeling confused and upset.
Police launched an investigation in May 2017, leading to Letby’s arrest at her Chester home in July 2018. Dr. Joanne Davies, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, testified that before the deaths of two triplet boys in June 2016, there was already concern within the hospital staff about the rising mortality rates. “There were rumours among the obstetric and midwifery staff, and there was an occasional unfounded comment that we had ‘another Beverley Allitt,’” she revealed. “We were always quick to stop this gossip as it felt completely unthinkable.” Allitt was a nurse who murdered four children and harmed nine others in 1991.
The inquiry is set to continue at Liverpool Town Hall until early next year, as more details surrounding Letby’s crimes are expected to emerge.